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M-U Rig Count Keeps Gains @ 39; Nat’l Count Loses 6 @ 542
The Marcellus/Utica rig count gained 1 rig two weeks ago in the Ohio Utica. The combined count hit 39 total rigs. Last week, the M-U maintained that count—the most rigs it has operated in more than a year. Pennsylvania has held at 18 active rigs for five consecutive weeks. Ohio picked up 1 rig two weeks ago and now operates 14 rigs. West Virginia maintained its 7 rigs, which it has operated since May 30. There were 24 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 15 targeting the Utica, for a combined 39 rigs in the M-U. The national count did not fare so well, losing 6 rigs, down to 542 active rigs, the lowest national count since September. Read More “M-U Rig Count Keeps Gains @ 39; Nat’l Count Loses 6 @ 542”
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you the news that Antero Resources, the country’s fifth-largest natural gas producer and largest producer in West Virginia, had cut a deal to buy WV driller and midstreamer HG Energy II for a combined (upstream & midstream) $3.9 billion (see 
In 2018, Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), proposed extending the MVP pipeline (after completion) by an additional 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric power generation. The 75-mile extension was called MVP Southgate. In December 2023, Equitrans announced it was significantly changing the project, cutting it by more than half and increasing the amount of gas flowing through it (see 
Natural gas liquids (NGLs) include “heavier” hydrocarbons that come out of the ground along with methane (CH4). The most prevalent NGL by volume is ethane (C2H6). Another common NGL is propane (C3H8). And yet another is butane (C4H10). Depending on the location, all of those NGLs are produced in abundance in the Marcellus/Utica region. So, it should not come as a surprise that manufacturing plants that use NGLs as feedstock would decide to locate facilities in the region to leverage low-cost NGLs. India-based Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd. (TCL) is moving into pre-commissioning and startup activities at its new manufacturing facility in West Virginia (near Moundsville, Marshall County) and is progressing toward startup operations. 
The Greene County Planning Commission recently voted 8-1 to approve Phase 1 of “Project Hummingbird,” a massive data center complex proposed for the former Robena Mine site in Monongahela Township. This initial phase focuses on land grading, reclamation, and site preparation for a “power island” featuring two natural gas turbines totaling 910 megawatts (MW) and a water treatment plant. The plant will use Marcellus/Utica gas to power it. 
In April, Knighthead Capital Management, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. announced a plan to convert the former Homer City Generating Station, previously the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania (Indiana County, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Fuel rationing chaos looms in New York State; Hochul ends ‘100-foot-law’ through new legislation; Georgia regulators approve massive power grid expansion to serve data centers; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures post daily gain, weekly loss; Climate fundraising update – hope amid doom; The EV bubble, or what’s left of it, popped this week; Democrats introduce legislation to stop LNG exports; INTERNATIONAL: Oil posts second weekly decline; The high cost of the “energy transition.”